Just in time for Veterans Day, there's a fight brewing. And some Sweetwater-based heroes are caught in the middle.

The Texas State Board of Education is considering next week new social studies curriculum and it could result in eliminating the Women Airforce Service Pilots — better known as the WASPs — from elementary school history books.

Ann E. Hobing, president and CEO of the National WASP WWII Museum in Sweetwater, is not taking it sitting down. And Erin Miller, granddaughter of WASP Elaine Harmon, created an online petition to help organize voices in support of keeping the WASPs in textbooks.

"We're trying to get the word out that this is happening because Texas's curriculum is important," Hobing said. "Because Texas is so big, what happens here can affect other states. We don't want their history and citizenship and sense of duty to be lost."

The petition closes Monday.

Hobing, Miller and others are expected in Austin Tuesday to voice support for the WASPs during public comment when the state board meets.

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Jessie Lou McReynolds reacts as Sweetwater Mayor Jim McKenzie presents her with a stainless steel wrench Thursday May 25, 2017 during the dedication of Hangar No. 1 at Avenger Field. The building is a replica of the original hangar which trained the Womens Airforce Service Pilots during World War II and is part of the National WASP World War II Museum. McReynolds, 95, was a mechanic at the school.(Photo: Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News)

Specifically, the proposal for social studies Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills would eliminate the need for second-grade students to be able to identify the WASPs and the Navajo Code Talkers as "historical figures and other individuals who have exemplified good citizenship."

TEKS standards are used by textbook companies to meet state requirements, by test producers to measure student success and by teachers use to guide their lessons.

About 1,100 women were graduates of the WASP training in Sweetwater during World War II. They flew missions, such as ferrying planes across the country and pulling targets, freeing up male pilots to fly combat missions.

But they overcame a lot more than just filling in for men, Hobing said.

"In a time when women weren't considered to be as good as men, that women weren't expected to have the strength, stamina and intelligence needed to be pilots, these women proved them wrong," she said. "Removing that from the history books would be a disservice to those veterans."

The state school board, represented in Abilene and Sweetwater by District 15's Marty Rowley, asked various parent and teacher groups to review the TEKS.

Rowley, an Amarillo-based attorney, said the Texas Legislature told the board to reduce the number of standards students must meet in their school year.

Signatures of past WASPs decorate an aluminum aircraft door around an image of Fifinella, the mascot for the Women's Airforce Service Pilots.(Photo: Ronald W. Erdrich, Ronald W. Erdrich)

At Tuesday's meeting, public comment will begin four days of consideration. A final vote is expected Nov. 16.

Rowley said he's already committed to making a motion to reinstate the WASPs but he doesn't know what kind of support he'll receive from the 14 other board members. So public participation in the process, including signing the petition, sending emails and making phone calls to other state school board members would help him make his case.

"I may just be a voice crying out in the wilderness," Rowley said. "A petition is great, but what's even more important is input, testimony before the state board, actual communication."

Women World War II-era pilots weren't the only ones facing elimination from the curriculum. Previous focus has been placed on historical figures like Helen Keller and current trailblazers like Hillary Clinton, who face their own elimination struggles.

Rowley said he's heard enough backlash on Helen Keller, for example, to support adding her back in. He's hoping there's enough support from others regarding the WASP group, but so far he hasn't heard much backlash.

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Students on a field trip watch a presentation at the WASP Museum in Sweetwater in 2015(Photo: Laura Gutschke/Reporter-News)

"It's not a dumbing down," Rowley said. "We're still maintaining a high level of rigor. It's a matter of streamlining and making decisions.

"The situation is that these figures were in the standards, but in their review, panels recommended they be removed. It doesn't mean the teachers can't teach them, it just means they're not part of the recommended standards."

"I think the WASPs have a strong argument. They're a women's group that demonstrated a courageous response to a situation, empowering women to step up into a pivotal role at that time. So I hope to make a strong argument for them to be included."

Petition drive

An online petition to keep the WASPs in second-grade history books can be found at waspmuseum.org.

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Nell Bright, one of the WASP pilots that trained at Sweetwater's Avenger Field in World War II, waves Saturday May 26, 2018 as her name is called during a luncheon at Texas State Technical College Sweetwater. Five former Women's Airforce Service Pilots attended Saturday's homecoming at the National WASP WWII Museum. Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News

Col. Andrea Themely, with her son 6 year-old son Josh on her knee, speaks with former WASP pilot Nell Bright during Saturday's luncheon at Texas State Technical College Sweetwater May 26, 2018. Themely is the commander of the 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base and was the keynote speaker during the luncheon. Five former Women's Airforce Service Pilots attended Saturday's homecoming at the National WASP WWII Museum at Avenger Field. Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News

Fifinella, the mascot for the Women's Airforce Service Pilots created by Walt Disney, is embroidered as a block on a quilt being raffled Saturday May 26, 2018 during the WASP Homecoming in Sweetwater. The WASPs celebrated 75 years this weekend since the school originally came to Avenger Field. Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News

U.S. Air Force Lt. Genevieve Anonsen (left) watches as Lt. A.J. Schoenberger describes to Richard Mandel flying in the AT-6 aircraft they train with at Sheppard Air Force Base in the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program. The two women are sitting in a Commemorative Air Force AT-6 flown by Mandel to Saturday's WASP Homecoming May 26, 2018. The Women's Airforce Service Pilots paved the way in World War II for woman pilots in the U.S. military. Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News

Lt. A.J. Schoenberger is reflected in the nose cone as she asks Richard Mandel about the engine on the Commemorative Air Force AT-6 Texan training airplane he flew to the WASP Homecoming Saturday May 26, 2018 in Sweetwater. Schoenberger and Lt. Genevieve Anonsen beside her are both students in the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program at Sheppard Air Force Base. The Women's Airforce Service Pilots in World War II paved the way for women to become military pilots, but it took nearly 30 years for it to finally happen. Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News

A member of the Liberty Jump Team parachutes from a C-47 aircraft during Saturday's WASP Homecoming at the National WASP WWII Museum in Sweetwater May 26, 2018. Five former Women's Airforce Service Pilots attended the event. Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News

Parachutists from the Liberty Jump Team descend to the ground after jumping from a C-47 airplane Saturday May 26, 2018 during the WASP Homecoming in Sweetwater. Five members of the World War II Women's Airforce Service Pilots came to the reunion which featured vintage aircraft and the jump team demonstration. Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News

Senior Airman Tiffany Schockley of Dyess Air Force Base waits with Dorothy Lucas in front of a Cessna UC-78 Bobcat Saturday May 26, 2018 at the WASP Homecoming in Sweetwater. Lucas was a member of the Women's Airforce Service Pilots and trained at Avenger Field in 1944. Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News